Alan Duffy

Brian Cox and Robin Ince visit Canberra for the first of 4 special episodes recorded in Australia. This week they visit the amazing Canberra Deep Space Communication Centre where scientists communicate with, and track the 200 or so spacecraft that are currently exploring our vast solar system and even beyond. They are joined by Astrophysicists Mark Cheung and Alan Duffy, Nobel prize winner Brian Schmidt and comedian Alice Fraser as they track legendary space craft like Voyager, still sending back messages from deep in space some 40 plus years after it first launched. They discover how despite these incredible missions we still don't know what 97% of our universe is made of, and how so many of these explorations are vital to our understanding of one very important planet - our own.Producer: Caroline Steel Executiver Producer: Alexandra Feachem

In this captivating discussion, astronomer Alan Duffy from Swinburne University takes us deep into an Australian gold mine set to host a pioneering dark matter detector. He explains the need for such unique locations to combat cosmic interference while highlighting the mysteries of dark matter and its pivotal role in physics. Duffy shares insights on innovative detection methods and the international collaboration driving this quest, suggesting that understanding these elusive particles could revolutionize our knowledge of the universe.